Gay parenthood goes on trial in Detroit
Impact on kids of gay and lesbian parents is on the docket Tuesday in federal courtroom in Michigan
DETROIT The legal battle over same-sex marriage moves Tuesday to a federal courtroom in Michigan where, for the first time since Californias famed Prop 8 case, a judge is expected to allow gay parenthood itself to be put on trial.
Federal Judge Bernard Friedman is weighing whether Michigans voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. The case started out with a lesbian couple suing the state for the right to both be legal guardians of each others children, but Friedman widened it and in doing so has given court-watchers a sense hes sympathetic to the couples argument.
Still, he plans to hear from witnesses from both sides, one of which asserts that recent research shows that children are not affected by their parents sexual orientation, while the other maintains that they fare worse than children raised by heterosexual couples.
While such material has been submitted in written briefs to judges in other states weighing the issue, Friedman is the first to hold a trial and allow lawyers to debate the question since 2010 when Judge Vaughn Walker found a similar constitutional amendment in California unconstitutional. That case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 to uphold Walkers ruling.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/24/gay-parenthood-goesontrialindetroit.html